EP2220736A1

EP2220736A1 - Device for holding lines in an aircraft

Info

Publication number: EP2220736A1
Application number: EP08863861A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Sandra Deimer; Jan Harder; Thomas Kriebisch; Axel König; Jean-Marie Le Corre; Thomas Mariak; Arne Wilhelm; Markus Fritz
Original assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH
Current assignee: Airbus Operations GmbH
Priority date: 2007-12-21
Filing date: 2008-12-17
Publication date: 2010-08-25
Also published as: JP2011507476A; DE102007063684A1; CN101904069A; WO2009080656A1; US20100314505A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a device for holding lines in an aircraft, comprising at least one line inlet, at least one line outlet and at least one housing chamber for holding at least one section of a line piece extending between the line inlet and the line outlet. Said line piece has a length that is equal to or greater than the clearance between the relevant line inlet and line outlet, and the housing chamber comprises means for detachably maintaining and for reverserably shortening or lengthening a line end that protrudes from the line inlet and/or the line outlet. The claimed devices mean that individually shortened wiring for connecting rows of passenger seats that can be reconfigured is no longer required as the device according to the invention makes available or takes up excessive lengths of line depending on the position of the row of passenger seats.

Description

Device for receiving lines in an aircraft

The invention relates to a device for receiving lines in an aircraft with at least one line input and at least one line output.

For supplying electrical components in passenger seats of an aircraft with electricity, data and the like, rows of passenger seats are often connected to each other with cable strands. The lengths of these cable strands must be matched to the distances between the individual rows of passenger seats. Often, however, it is necessary to move the rows of seats in a passenger plane, for example, due to seasonal load fluctuations in relation to each other and to arrange in a different configuration. By changing the distances of the rows of seats to each other, the required lengths of the connecting cable change, so that nowadays cable harnesses of different lengths are kept for this purpose. In the reconfiguration of the aircraft cabin, in which the distances between the rows of seats are changed to one another, it is either necessary to lay new cable strands, or to solve the existing cable excess length consuming from their stowage or to stow the unnecessary cable excess lengths in their stowage there, that the relevant provisions of the aviation authorities are met. Often, however, there is a lack of available space for suitable stowage facilities, so that the stowage of cable excess lengths in the seats can often lead to disregard of the provisions for the routing of cables within aircraft. Furthermore, resulting cable excess lengths are usually fixed so far with disposable cable ties, which has a high workload result in a release of further cable length and re-fixing the remaining excess lengths. If, for example, a complete cabin section is reconfigured, which usually happens within the normal maintenance intervals within one night, these are activities considered to be very time-critical. Therefore, it would be desirable to carry out reconfiguration work if the amount and scope of the required activity could be minimized. Ideally, these activities would be limited to the steps of unlocking the seat mechanical connection, moving the seating groups, and then mechanically locking the seats without having to pay attention to the routing or stowage of the passenger seat connection cables.

A similarly stored problem arises in the wiring of a

Passenger seating row with a Floor Disconnect Box ("FDB"), of which in today's passenger aircraft often several distributed over the entire floor area of a passenger cabin in the aircraft longitudinal axis direction are arranged. These floor connection boxes, for example, provide data connections to an entertainment system ("in-flight entertainment",

Each configuration of the passenger cabin requires new cables between the floor connection boxes and the rows of passenger seats connected to it, each with a specified length and part number Cab replaced, which requires a complex extra work and a variety of cable lengths vorzuhaltenden.

The object of the invention is therefore to reduce one or more of the disadvantages mentioned or to eliminate them altogether. In particular, the object of the invention to propose a device can be extended or shortened in the simplest possible way when reconfiguring a passenger cabin of an aircraft with the connection or connection cable, so that no mechanical holder - such as cable ties and the like - dissolved or must be attached and also the entire connection or connection cable including the device complies with the applicable aviation regulations.

The object is achieved by a device for receiving lines in an aircraft, having at least one line input, at least one line output and at least one receiving space for receiving at least a portion of a running between the line input and the line output line piece, wherein the line piece has a length which the clearance between the respective line input and line output is equal to or greater than this and wherein the receiving space comprises means for releasably holding and for the reversible guided shortening or lengthening of a protruding from the line input and / or line output line end.

The device according to the invention is advantageous over the solutions of the prior art. By a defined receiving space for receiving a line section, it is possible to shorten or extend a projecting from the line input or line output line so that the length corresponds to the distance between two rows of passenger seats or between a floor connection box and a passenger seat row. The recorded line section is greater than the distance between the line input and the line output, if not the current installation situation claimed the maximum cable length. The storage space not only provides a space for receiving a conduit, but also means for supporting and is thus able to reversibly shorten or extend the protruding conduit end. Reversible means in this context that no additional elements to be attached to the recorded line section manually and must be replaced when adjusting the device again. It is sufficient to pull out only the line end of the device or push it back into the device. A particularly advantageous embodiment has, for example, a lubricously coated surface for simplifying the operation, wherein the receiving space not only has to have a substantially straight shape but can also be made bent. Preferably, the width of the receiving space corresponds to twice the bending radius of the line. In addition, it is advantageous if the receiving space is provided with a rattle-resistant as well as an abrasion-resistant layer.

With this proposed solution, it is possible to provide only one line length for a reconfigurable passenger cabin, because with the device different distances between passenger seat rows or passenger seat rows and floor connection boxes can be changed individually and quickly.

Another advantageous embodiment as a further development of the device according to the invention comprises in the receiving space spring-loaded pulleys, can be pulled through the cable excess lengths actively by means of a kind of reverse pulley in the receiving space. This type of device for receiving lines could for example modify a common seat-to-seat wiring and be placed directly on or under passenger seats.

Further advantageous developments of the device according to the invention can be found in the dependent claims.

The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to FIGS. In the figures, like objects are identified by like reference numerals. Show it: Fig. 1: Schematic view of a floor connection box and two passenger seat rows connected thereto;

Fig. 2: Schematic view of a seat-to-seat wiring in an aircraft cabin;

Fig. 3: Top view of the first embodiment of the invention

Contraption; 4 shows a side view of the first embodiment of the device according to the invention; Fig. 5: Schematic view of the second embodiment of the inventive storage device; 6 shows another schematic view of the second embodiment of the device according to the invention;

Fig. 7a: Schematic view of two interconnected passenger seat rows with the second embodiment of the device according to the invention with an enlarged distance; Fig. 7b: Schematic view of the second wired together

Passenger seat rows with the second embodiment of the device according to the invention with reduced distance; 8 shows a three-dimensional view of the second embodiment of the device according to the invention, and FIG. 9 shows a three-dimensional view of a modification of the invention

Apparatus of the second embodiment.

In Fig. 1, two passenger seat rows 2 and one located in the floor 4 are

6, the passenger seat rows 2 are connected via lines 8 to the floor connection box 6. Floor connection boxes 6 are at fixed points arranged distributed over the floor 4 within the cabin. The lines used for the connection 8 respectively correspond to the distance between a connection piece of a passenger seat row 2, not shown in more detail, and the ideally nearest floor connection box 6, so that specific lines 8 with exactly defined lengths are kept available for each cabin configuration and thus for all the connection distances encountered have to. If the distances between the passenger seat rows 2 are changed, new lines 8 for connecting the passenger seat rows 2 to the floor connection boxes are required, which must have a specially tailored to this configuration length.

In the seat-to-seat wiring shown in Fig. 2 between rows of passenger seats 2 via lines 10, as is common in the prior art, although the lengths of the lines 10 at least in fixed sections of the cabin 12 are constant, but these are after Reconfigure the cab 12 also to modify.

A way out of this problem is provided by a device according to the invention in the first embodiment according to FIG. 3. There, a floor connection box 14 is shown which has two connections 16 for lines 8. The lines 8 are inserted through line inputs 18 into the device, which are in this case under a seat rail 20. The inserted into the line inputs 18 lines 8 are bent in the area in front of guide walls 22 by about 90 °, so that the previously parallel to the seat rail 20 extending lines 8 occupy a direction transverse to the seat rail 20. Through the guide walls 22, the lines 8 enter the receiving spaces 24, in which the lines are bent again by 180 ° and finally open into the terminals 16. The area between a respective receiving space 24 and the floor connection box 14th is to be understood as a line output, because the lines 8 leave the space of the device and open into the respective port 16th

The receiving spaces 24 have in each case specially matched to the needs of rekonfϊgurierbar to be designed passenger cabin dimensions, so that depending on the design case either larger or smaller cable lengths can be kept. The Aushahmeräume to be interpreted 24 need not be rectilinear as shown in Fig. 3 for the sake of simplicity exemplified. Rather, it is also conceivable that receiving spaces 24 can occupy a generally single or multiple curved or curved shape and run substantially below the floor 4 of the cabin. Finally, the receiving spaces 24 need not be parallel to the floor 4, i. horizontally, but depending on the available space.

The lateral sectional view of Fig. 4 illustrates the first embodiment of the device according to the invention and shows the vertical course of one of the two apparent from Fig. 3 lines 8 within the device according to the invention. By way of example, the line 8 extends via the line input 18 below a cover 26 to the guide walls 22 and from there into the receiving space 24. In the receiving space 24, the 180 ° deflection takes place, whereby the line 8 again runs in the direction of the line input 18. Above the floor connection box 14, the line 8 is additionally bent downwards in the vertical direction so that it reaches the downwardly offset connection 16 in a region designated as a line exit for entering into a connection.

If it is now necessary to release a portion of the line excess length located in the receiving space, it can be pulled on the line input 18 or further outside on the line 8, so that the line 8 moves from the receiving space in the direction of the line input 18. Conversely, it is also possible by inserting the line 8 in the direction of the line input 18 to lead a cable excess length in the receiving space 24. Advantageously, the guide walls 22 and the receiving space 24 on a sliding coating, so that the line 8 as easy as possible into the device and slide out of this device again. In the event that the line 8 can not be pushed in or pulled out particularly easily, the movement of the line 8 can be assisted by releasing the cover 26.

A second embodiment of the device according to the invention is shown in FIG. There, the device according to the invention is integrated in a row of passenger seats 2 and is located above the floor 4. The device according to the invention serves in this case by way of example to connect an electronics unit 28 spaced from the floor and arranged at a passenger seat with lines 10, each with the preceding one Passenger seat row 2 or the subsequent passenger seat row 2 are connected.

The recording or releasing cable excess length is done actively in this embodiment. The device has for this purpose a plurality of rollers 30, 32, 34 and 36 as guide means or for deflecting and a spring 38. The one in one

Line input 40 projecting line 10 is deflected via the guide roller 30 from a horizontal direction to the floor 4 in a direction perpendicular to the floor 4 direction and is there connected to a terminal 40 on the electronics unit 28. This line 10 comes here about from an electronics unit 28, which is arranged in the previous row of passenger seats 2. A second line 10 is connected to a terminal 42 of the electronics unit 28, initially runs vertically downwards in the direction of floor 4, is deflected via the roller 34 in a horizontal and the floor 4 parallel direction, then on the deflection roller 36 is deflected by 180 ° and then finally deflected by the deflection roller 32 by a further 180 ° in the same plane. The line 10 runs after the last deflection again parallel to the floor 4 and leaves the device from a line exit area in the direction of the subsequent row of passenger seats 2, where it can be connected to a corresponding terminal 40. The roller 36 is pressed by the spring 38 along a guide 44 in the direction of the subsequent row of passenger seats 2. Due to the multiple deflection of the line 10 to the rollers 32 to 36 is formed in a kind of reverse pulley a dependent on the spring force tensile force on the line end of leading back to the subsequent row of passenger seats 2 line 10. This has the consequence that this line 10, if it is connected to the corresponding terminal 40 of the electronic unit 28 of the subsequent row of passenger seats 2, is loaded to train and thereby automatically enters a possible line excess length in a receiving space 46 of the device according to the invention.

In the illustration of Fig. 5, the spring 38 is relatively strong tensioned, resulting in a corresponding released length of the guide 44 and thus the outgoing to the subsequent row of passenger seats 2 line 10 has a relatively large length. In a Umkonfϊguration the cabin of the aircraft to greater seating density and thus to a decrease in the distance between the passenger rows of seats 2, the spring 38 will relax, as a lesser seat spacing leads to greater line length, which must be accommodated in the receiving space 46.

This situation is illustrated in Fig. 6, in which the spring 38 has its maximum length and the roller 36 abuts the outermost end of the guide 44. This would represent the design case of the greatest possible seating density and thus the lowest possible realizable distance between two rows of passenger seats 2.

Particularly advantageous in the active embodiment of the device according to the invention by means of spring 38 and rollers 30 to 36 is the minimum

Adjustment effort for cabin reconfiguration. The interaction of devices according to the invention, which are distributed over two successive rows of passenger seats 2, represent FIGS. 7a and 7b. In Fig. 7a, a relatively large distance between the two rows of passenger seats 2 is set. As a result, the spring 38 is relatively tight and a relatively large

Line excess length is taken from the receiving space 46. It acts a steady pulling force on the outgoing line 10 - which is characterized by the arrow pointing backwards - on the seat-to-seat cabling 10. This ensures that all cable lengths are safely stowed and securely supported, so no additional Cable ties or the like are necessary. The reconfiguration of the cabin to a shape as shown in Fig. 7b, therefore, requires only the notching of a passenger seat row 2 from the respective seat rail positions and latching in a further advanced position. This results in one of the difference of the previous seat distance of Fig. 7a and the subsequent distance of Fig. 7b corresponding cable excess length, which is retracted in the receiving space 46 by the spring force. Due to the pulley-like principle and the multiple deflections, the dimensions of the installation space of the device do not have to correspond to the cable excess length to be pulled in and can be made correspondingly compact.

The device according to the invention according to the second embodiment is not based on the use of four rollers, as illustratively three-dimensional in FIG. 8 is presented, limited, but can be further modified. FIG. 9 shows a corresponding modification, which is also located within the passenger seat row 2 below the seat surfaces between chair legs 48. Here, two additional rollers 50 and 52 are implemented, through which a further spring 54 can be introduced into the device. This additional spring 54 has the effect that in the sum of greater spring travel can be realized, which also lead to larger recordable cable lengths. The maximum measure of the stowable cable excess length could, if necessary, be additionally increased by further cascaded spring and roller elements for optimum utilization of the available installation space. Accordingly, with a modification of FIG. 9, a virtually maximized adaptability of a seat-to-seat connection 10 can be realized. The devices of FIGS. FIGS. 8 and 9 also show, as an advantageous further development, the roller and spring arrangement in a double design, so that a double cable routing for route separation of data, power or other lines for separating air-critical cable bundles from uncritical cable bundles is made possible.

In addition, those shown in Figs. 8 and 9 can be covered by a surrounding housing, so that only a closed line module has to be attached to a row of passenger seats in order to arrive at an easily reconfigurable cabin configuration. The receiving space of a device according to the second embodiment corresponds to the maximum occupied space of the roller-spring arrangement, which corresponds to the installation space of the housing in the case of a housing cover.

Finally, it should be mentioned that the device according to the invention is applicable to all types of lines and is not limited to electrical lines. In addition, it should be understood that "comprising" does not exclude other elements or steps and "a" or "an" does not exclude a multitude. "It should also be understood that features or steps described with reference to any of the above embodiments are also incorporated in" US Pat Combination with other features or steps of other embodiments described above may be used, and reference signs in the claims are not intended to be limiting.

Claims

Patent claims

A device for receiving lines (8, 10) in an aircraft, comprising at least one line input (14), at least one line output, and at least one receiving space (24) for receiving at least a portion of a line input between the line input (14) and the line output Conductor piece, wherein the line piece has a length which is equal to or greater than the clear distance between the respective line input (14) and line output and wherein the receiving space (24) means (22, 24, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 , 50, 52, 54) for releasable holding and for the reversible guided shortening or lengthening of a line end projecting from the line inlet (14) and / or line outlet.

2. Device according to claim 1, wherein the receiving space (24) has a width which substantially corresponds to twice the bending radius of the conduit (8, 10).

3. Device according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the device at least one guide wall (22) for guiding the line (8, 10) in the

Receiving space (24).

4. Device according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the guide wall (22) and / or the receiving space (24) has a lubricious coating.

5. Device according to one of the preceding claims, which is adapted so that the line (8, 10) in the receiving space (24) undergoes at least one 180 ° deflection at male excess length.

6. Device according to one of the preceding claims, which is arranged in the floor (4) of the aircraft cabin (12) and adapted for releasing lines (8, 10) to the passenger seat rows (2).

7. Device according to one of the preceding claims, comprising at least one deflection roller (30, 32, 34, 36) for deflecting and receiving the conduit (8, 10).

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, comprising two or more pulleys (30, 32, 34, 36, 50, 52) for multiple deflection and receiving the conduit (8, 10).

9. Apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, wherein at least one guide roller (30, 32, 34, 36, 50, 52) in a guide (44) is slidably disposed and by means of at least one spring (38) to one end of the guide (44) is pressed or pulled.

10. Device according to one of claims 7-9, which is arranged so that the line (8, 10) undergoes at least two deflections of substantially 180 °.

11. Device according to one of claims 7-10, which additionally comprises a housing.

12. Use of a device according to any one of claims 1-11 in an aircraft for receiving line excess lengths of a line (8) between a Floor connection box (14) and a corresponding connection of a passenger seat row (2).

13. Use of an apparatus according to any one of claims 1-11 in an aircraft for accommodating cable excess lengths of a line (10) between two corresponding terminals (40, 42) of electronic units (28) of two successive passenger seat rows (2).